SANKOFA BLACK BUSINESS AWARDS GALA

Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees.

Our Keynote Speaker: Adrienne Trimble, President, National Minority Supplier Development Council

Our Mistress of Ceremony: WDIV – Live in the D, Tati Amare.

This year, we are proud to announce that we’re honoring Walter “Walt” Douglas, Chairman, Avis Ford with the Sankofa Black Business Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Douglas moved to Detroit in 1966 and was deeply moved by the July 1967 riots in Detroit. He began volunteering around the city, and his efforts were noticed by city leaders. Ibn 1972, he became the vice president of New Detroit, Inc, a non-profit founded in 1967 to deal with the city’s racial and employment tensions. He was also a trusted advisor to Mayor Coleman Young. In 1978 he was named president of New Detroit and remained in the position until he decided to move to the private sector in 1985. Walt entered into a car dealer ownership minority training program hosted by Ford Motor Company to give more African Americans a chance at ownership.

In 1986, Douglas purchased a share in Avis Ford in suburban Detroit, a historic dealership owned by the founder of the Avis Rent-a-Car System. He became majority owner in 1992. Since, 1992 he has earned a host of awards for the success of his dealership, and his continued work within the Detroit community as a philanthropist. In 2006, he turned over the business operation to his son, Mark.

PRESENTED BY